{"id":64017,"date":"2017-08-14T21:08:31","date_gmt":"2017-08-14T21:08:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2017\/08\/14\/mattis-withdrawal-contractors-still-options-for-afghanistan\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T12:20:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T12:20:17","slug":"mattis-withdrawal-contractors-still-options-for-afghanistan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2017\/08\/14\/mattis-withdrawal-contractors-still-options-for-afghanistan\/","title":{"rendered":"Mattis: Withdrawal, contractors still options for Afghanistan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 All options \u2014 from withdrawal, to using private contractors, to adding thousands of U.S. forces to the fight \u2014 remain on the table for Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mattis, along with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and National Security Adviser Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster have worked for months to craft strategy options for President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While Mattis repeated that the White House and Pentagon are very close to finalizing a new strategy to present to Trump, the possibilities of what that future role in Afghanistan would be remains wide open, Mattis said Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mattis was asked both about the option that U.S. forces could withdraw, and whether a private contracted force was possible for Afghanistan. He said they are both still under consideration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe strategic decisions have not been made,\u201d Mattis said. \u201cIt\u2019s part of the options being considered.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Military Times previously reported on Trump supporter and former Blackwater CEO Erik Prince\u2019s efforts to outsource the now 16-year Afghan war to private contractors, including offering a privatized air force for Afghanistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Military Times also reported that Gen. John Nicholson, commander of U.S. Forces-Afghanistan, has refused to meet with Prince.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2017\/08\/02\/blackwater-founder-wants-to-run-the-afghan-air-war-with-his-private-air-force\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"144\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/070402-F-3961R-201.JPG.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Blackwater founder wants to boost the Afghan air war with his private air force<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Erik Prince, the former CEO of the private military company formerly known as Blackwater, wants to run the Afghan air war with a private air force capable of intelligence collection and close-air support, according to a recent proposal submitted to the Afghan government.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is not clear whether that refusal has frustrated Trump. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to NBC News, Trump has asked both Mattis and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford to replace Nicholson as the top U.S. general in Afghanistan. due to the president\u2019s frustration with how that campaign is going.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Monday, Mattis defended Nicholson, saying he \u201cof course\u201d supports him. But Mattis could not say whether the White House similarly supported him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAsk the president,\u201d Mattis said. \u201c[Nicholson] has the confidence of NATO. He has the confidence of the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The new strategy for Afghanistan was expected about a month ago. Mattis said he was still confident a decision was close.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe are sharpening each of the options so you can see the pluses and minuses of each one so that there\u2019s no longer any new data you are going to get, now just make the decision.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a>Tcopp@mco.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is still finalizing details of a new strategy for Afghanistan to present to President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":100090,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":65,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,8,12,26,62,65],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3342],"class_list":["post-64017","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-flashpoints","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress","category-your-navy"],"acf":{"subheadline":"Defense secretary also affirms support for top US general in 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